Zentia developer ChangYou spends $68 million on a browser game company

Brower-based gaming is starting to really catch on, with a variety of games either staking out the browser as the sole required program or offering play options to browser-bound players. ChangYou, the development company most known to western readers for its game Zentia, has apparently decided that the browser field is worth investing in to the tune of $68.3 million, as it was just announced today that the company had purchased a controlling interest in Chinese company Shenzhen 7Road Technology Co.

The acquisition is intended to complete on June 30th, with up to $32 million more up for grabs if Shenzhen 7Road manages to meet certain performance milestones through the end of next year. While there's plenty of reason to speculate about what this means for the future, it's certainly interesting to note that a free-to-play game developer is making such a large investment in a browser company -- an action that could have long-term ramifications for both present and future games.